After finally gaining an advantage over Bologna, Livorno managed to blow it away with two consecutive losses against Torino, and an in-form Atalanta.
To be honest, few people would’ve expected the Amaranto to get all three points at the Stadio Azzurri D’Italia and the Stadio Olimpico Turin against two sides who have impressed all season and are slowly evolving into two lethal Serie A sides. What wasn’t expected though is for Bologna and Chievo to get three points on Wednesday and Sunday respectively.
I’m going to look at the bright side of things. The Amaranto went and put up a fight against Atalanta and Torino. These two sides are very dangerous at home. In fact if we look at the Serie A table for home fixtures only, Atalanta would sit in an astounding third. Torino on the other hand, have only lost four games at home all season. However, Livorno are now entering sudden death.
At this stage of the season, sides wanting to avoid relegation should be preparing to scrape some points, but for Livorno the task is difficult, really difficult. The last thing Domenico Di Carlo wanted was to face Inter, Juventus, Chievo, AC Milan, Lazio, Udinese, Fiorentina, and Parma in the closing games of the season. If Livorno want to stay up, they’ll have to put in 200% percent.
NEXT THREE GAMES
Inter (H)
First up, is Inter at home. Even though Di Carlo’s men face the Nerazzurri at the Stadio Armando Picchi, the latter will have no option but to win in order to stay in 5th and achieve Europa League qualification. Inter are on 48 points, and they could surpass Fiorentina if the latter lose and they win against Livorno.
The Viola are up against Sampdoria at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris next, and Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men are will be in for the win as they themselves have a chance of achieving Europa League qualification. The players can make use of the pressure that will be on the Inter players to perform, and come away with a surprise result. At this stage, points are needed.
Juventus (A)
Oh dear. A trip to the Juventus Stadium is any Serie A team’s nightmare, Antonio Conte’s men haven’t dropped any points at home this season, and are likely to get all three points against Livorno as well. The Bianconeri are unlikely to drop any points at home this season, and Mimmo Di Carlo’s men could set field for a point.
Chievo (H)
From a very tough fixture to a must-win game. Beating the Gialloblu at home is not a matter of ‘must’ if Livorno want to keep this fight until the end. In addition to Chievo being relegation rivals, it’s a winnable game for the Amaranto. As we can clearly see, winnable games are few now, and this one may be Livorno’s only shot at getting three points. Ceo’s position is unlikely to change as well. They face Milan next and then the Derby della Scala against Hellas Verona.
A Battle
Even though the run of fixtures is undisputedly tough, I do not want to rule Livorno out entirely. Football is a game that has always surprised us, but from this point on we announce the beginning of the toughest stage of the season. This stage will whether Livorno Calcio will stay up. Let the Death Games begin.
Follow Ahmed Assem on Twitter: @CalcioTown
